Overalls



C. KROLL.

OVERALLS. APPLICATION mm mm 1920.

1 ,41 1,666. Patented Apr. 4, 1922.

UNITED STATES PA'I'ENT 'GFFICE.

CHARLES xnonn, or NEEDHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGLL MEN'IS, no man KROLL COMPANY, or BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A conroRA- TION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

OVERALIJS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 4, 1922.

Application filed. December 3, 1920. Serial No. 427,983.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES Know, a citizen of the United States, residing at Needham, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and use-- ful Improvement in Overalls, of which. the following is a specification, reference being had therein. to the accompanying drawings.

My invention, relatesto overalls; and more particularly to a form of supporting strap for overalls.

In the manufacture of overalls it is; nus tomary to provide a pair of; straps or hands, permanently fastened to. the back portion of the overalls, and adapted to be thrown over the shoulders of the wearer and fastened to. the front portion of the overalls in order to. hold the same in proper position upon the wearer. These straps. have generally been made of one or two plies or suit able material, such, for instance, as overall material, in. the form of bands of suitable width stitchedat the edges. Straps so constructed, however, have been open to the objection. thatv after a short period of use the: straps roll or curl transversely and. in stead of lying. flat: over the shoulders of the wearer and thereby distributing the weight of the overalls, they tend to assume a round 01: rope form in transverse section, thereby cutting into the shoulder of the wearer and causing more or less discomfort.

The, main object of my invention is the provision in overalls of supporting straps so made that all transverse rolling or curling of the same is obviated to the end that the straps are at all times in fiat condition, irrespective of the age of the garment or the extent of the wear. 6

Another object is the provision of a strap of the above character which can be easily and cheaply made without increasing the cost of manufacture of the garment to any material extent.

Other objects of the invention will be more specifically pointed out and described hereinafter.

I have found from experience that the curling or rolling transversely of overall straps may be entirely obviated if the straps are made up of two or more plies of material stitched together at their edges and then fastened together at points or on lines running longitudinally of the strap and intermediate the edges thereof. hen the plies of material constituting the strap are not so fastened together intermediate the edges, there is. nothing to prevent relative movement of the plies and the rolling and: curl.- ing of one ply with a consequent bunching or folding of the other ply.

riefly, my invention, contemplates a; sup: porting strap for overalls made up of a plurality of bands. of suitable material secured together at their longitudinal edges and also at points or on longitudinal lines intermediate the longitudinal edges. The various pl es constituting the strap may be fastened together in any suitable manner but 1, have found that one or more lines of stitching running longitudinally the strap will ohviate the curling or rolling of the strap in use and, at the same time, will, not materially increase the cost of manufacture In the drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of my invention, Figure 1 is a view in perspective of the upper portion of the front of a pair of overalls provided with straps embodying my invention, said straps being shown in the position of use; Fig. 2 is a perspective plan view of a port1on of one strap, with cut away portions to show. the interior construction thereof, and Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view on line 3-3 in Fig... 2.

Referring to the drawings showing the preferred embodiment of my invention 4; designates the upper part only of the front portion of the body of a pair of overalls and 5, 5, two supporting straps embodying my invention. The rear ends 7, 7, of the straps 5, 5, are generally permanently secured to the back of the body ofthe overalls but since my invention relates to the supporting straps and not to the body of the overalls, the latter is not shown in the drawings.

Each strap 5 is made up of a plurality of bands of suitable material stitched together at their longitudinal edges. Although any suitable material may be used for the straps, it is customary to make them of the same material that is used for the body of the overalls. Referring to Fig. 2 of the drawings, I have shown my straps 5 as composed of three plies; two outer plies 8 and 10 and an intermediate ply 12. The two outer plies 8 and 10 are preferably of the overall material but for the intermediate ply 12, the same or a different or a stiffer textile material may be utilized. The plies 8, 10 and 12 are secured together by lines of stitching 14 at their longitudinal edges. The two plies 8 and 10 may be formed from a single band of a width twice as great as that of the strap b folding it over upon itself longitudinal y as shown in section in Figure 3. The two edges 15 of the material are then folded in and when stitched the edge of the strap presents a smooth finished appearance.

Between the edges of the strap 5 the different plies may be fastened together in any suitable manner, preferably by one or more longitudinal rows of stitching 16. Although one row of stitching 16 located midway the edges will give very good results so far as the prevention of curling is concerned, I prefer to use two rows located at equal'distances apart and from the edge rows of stitching. Additional rows may be added if desired. Other means may be used for fastening the plies on longitudinal lines intermediate the edges to prevent relative movement, yet I have found rows of stitching to be the most effective and most economical.

Beferrin to Figure 3 it will be apparent that the di erent plies of material are tightly fastened together by the rows of stitching 16, 16, and in consequence it is quite impossible for any relative movement between the plies to occur. This being so, the strap is held by the fabric in its normally flat position and all curling and rolling in a transverse di rection even under severe conditions of use are obviated.

In Fig. 1 the straps 5, 5, are shown as provided with adjusting buckles 20 and catches 22 for engaging buttons 24 on the overall, all of ordinary and well known construction. In use the straps lie flat upon the shoulders of the wearer and distribute the strain imposed by the weight and position of the overalls, and thereby conduce to the comfort of the wearer. Straps of my construction may be used indefinitely without rolling or curling, the different layers of fabric being always held in their original relative positions. By the use of sewing machines having multiple needles, all the rows of stitching may be put in in one operation thereby not increasing the labor cost to any material extent.

It is to be understood that my invention is not to be limited to the specific form of construction herein shown and described but may be embodied in various other forms all within the purview of the following claims.

1. A supporting strap for overalls made up of a plurality of layers of material, said layers being secured together by arow of stitching at each longitudinal edge and by longitudinal stitching intermediate said edge rows of stitching.

2. A supporting strap for overalls comprising two outer plies of material and an intermediate ply of stiffening material; all of said plies being secured together by a row of stitching at each longitudinal edge of said strap and by longitudinal stitching intermediate said longitudinal edge rows of stitching.

3. A supporting strap for overalls comprising threeplies made up of folding a band of double width about an intermediate band; all of said plies being secured together by a row of stitching at each longitudinal edge of said strap and by longitudinal stitching intermediate said longitudinal edge rows of stitching.

In witness whereof. I hereunto set my hggbd this twenty-sixth day of November, 1

CHARLES KROLL. 

